Preliminary Task Evaluation

For this task we decided to go with the idea of a police interrogation, and I think that idea worked well for this task because it ran well with the instructions of walking through a door, sitting down and having a few lines of conversation. I think the footage that we caught was good and not too difficult to edit but we did encounter some issues while filming.

The main problem we had with filming was the setting. There were not many available rooms that matched the set needed for this film, so eventually we had to settle with a printer room with a desk in it. In some shots this printer can be seen (see left). This presented a problem as the room was just a little bit too small and although we could do most of the filming relatively simply it meant that some of the shots included in the could not be filmed in the tight space. This also made it difficult to conform to the 180 degree rule as it quickly became very limited so we had to experiment with other shots we had not previously planned to use, such as this shot which we tried to make look like a CCTV camera (see below.) Another problem was there was a lot of background noise caught from corridors etc.

Overall I think this task went reasonably well, but if it was to re do the task I would possibly to try to find a bigger room as the size of the room was the cause of most of the problems that we faced on this task. Also possible trying to find a quiter room as there was quite a lot of background noise coming from corridors outside.

Preliminary Task

Continuity Task

This was a continuity  task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. We were told we had to demonstrate 3 techniques in the task, which were match on action, shot/reverse shot and conformation to the 180 degree rule.

180 Degree Rule

The Rule

The 180 degree rule is a rule concerning camera work which is followed in order to avoid confusing the viewers. An imaginary line called the axis (see above) goes through the two cameras concerned in the shot. The rule states that you cannot cross over the axis with a cut, and you must film just on the selected side of the axis. This will make it more easy to comprehend as it will make sure that one character is always on the right and the other is always on the left, and they will not switch. If you cross the axis, it is knows and crossing the line, or jumping the line.

Breaking The 180 Degree Rule

It is possible to break the rule, but it can be very difficult to do properly so in most circumstances it is easier to just conform to the rule. The most common way to break the rule is to simply move the camera round the axis by tracking.

Sound Techniques

Dialogue - A conversation or argument between two or more characters




Diegetic Sound - Sound made in the scene that is heard by characters in the set can hear. I.e. birds chirping




Non-Diegetic Sound - Any sound heard in the finished film that cannot be heard by the characters in the set, i.e. a soundtrack





Sound Motif - A sound that becomes associated an object or character, so when you hear the sound you automatically think of the object or character. I.e. the music from jaws.





Synchronous Sound - Visual movements matching sound. I.e. in music videos, dancers perform dance moves synchronized with the music, in time with the sound.


Contrapuntal Sound - sound that does not match the visuals of what you can see. It will feel inappropriate and will not fit the tone of the visuals.

Voice Over - The narrator or a character talks over the top of the scene, they can can be heard but not be seen.

Soundtrack - Music played over the top to add emotion or provoke a particular feeling within the audience.This cannot be heard by the characters on set.


Ambient Sound - Everyday background noise used to make the the scene more realistic. I.e. wind or cars.

Macro and Micro Analysis

Macro is the whole image. It is the finished product that you view. It is looking at the whole piece and analysing it as a whole rather than looking at specific parts. Usually macro representation looks at the genre, representation and narrative.


Genre is basically the category a film is put in. When looking at genre, you have to look at the narrative techniques to see how it is out together. The story and filming techniques are among what makes up what genre it is. There are several ways films can be categorised in several ways, and there are different things to look at to help do this.

Mood - is the tone and emotional feel of the film.

Setting is where the film is based or where the action takes place.

Target Audience - who the film is aimed at.

Format - the way the film was shot.

Theme - concepts the film was made about.

- Main film genres include action, comedy, crime, drama, adventure, horror and science fiction amongst others.

Narative is simply the story that the film follows, but is very important as with no story line, there is no film.

Representation is another key part, as it suggests a lot more than can be said in the film. The way characters or places are represented is used to give the viewer emotions and feelings about people/places in the film. It helps the viewer form attachments to characters, so makes the film more emotional and relatable.

Micro is the smaller parts that come together to make the bigger picture, usually revolving around the cinematography This includes cinematography, which covers camera angles, movement, sound and mise-en-scene.

Lighting - is very important as it heavily influences the audiences emotional response to what they are seeing.

Camera Movement - plays a big part in how action is portrayed and also effects the viewers emotional response to the action.

Sound  - gives another dimension to the film, enables dialouge. 

Editing Techniques.

Cut – the most common type of video transition. Simply replacing one shot instantly with the next. Used from flicking from one side to the next, often in scenes of action, arguments or conversations. The name is from old fashioned movies when the editor would literally cut the film and glue the parts together.

Cross Fade/Dissolve – Gradual fade from one shot to the next. Also sometimes known as a mix. Used for slowing the pace of a video. Used for creating a tone i.e. relaxation. Used for showing scenic shots i.e. waterfalls, mountains. Creates a feel of time passing by or aging

-------> Shot, Reverse Shot – When a shot is shown, then the reverse        shot is shown. Usually from two characters viewoints. Used often for conversations or argument.

Jump Cut – Transition between two shots, where the shot appears to go forward in time, where the section of the clip has been cut out.

Graphic Match and Cut Away – a cut from one subject to another. This can be two objects of the same shape or that generally graphically match. This is used to help continuity of action and linking the two shots.

Parallel Editing/Intercutting – a cut from two separate events that are happening simultaneously. Often used to show one persons unawareness of another event happening at the same time, when two events are happening at the same time.

Match on Action – connects different views of the same action in the same moment, multi camera set up used. Different cameras pick up where the last camera left off.

-------> Wipe – Very old dated transition that is not often used in modern film. Was popular in the 70’s and

80’s when computers were first being used for film. An example where this was used a lot was in Star Wars.

Montage – Different things going on at once show everyone what’s going on. Shows a long duration of time in a short time. I.e. Rocky training.